Why?
by ravioli-jo
Summary: Ok, I just really wanted to write a Sly Cooper/Carmelita oneshot story. Please review. Review, no burning, constructive criticism only. P.S. I couldn't think of a better title, but it works kind of.


**Disclaimer: I do NOT own any of the original Sly Cooper game characters. Masquerade, on the other hand, is mine. So keep your paws off her!! So are the Cooper/Fox children. These ones specifically, not any of the others.**

**Couple of the story: Sly/Carmelita**

**Evil murderer/hired assassin of the story: Masquerade**

**I like writing at the beginning of stories, it's fun =]**

**You're right, Tanner**special thanks**. This story needed more background. So here it is.**

**This story takes place about 9 years after Sly 3. Carmelita learned that Sly was faking his amnesia about 6 months after Sly 3 ended, and she still accepted and loved him. Sly quit his job at Interpol 3 weeks later. The police found out that Sly had been faking his amnesia after they found his calling cards at the scene of various robberies. Sly and Carmelita got married in secret in a little church in Spain 4 months later. Approximately 1 year later, little Connor Manuel Cooper was born(Connor after Sly's father, Manuel after Carmelita's)**I don't know Carmelita's fathers name, I just like Manuel** Sly had been worried he wouldn't be a good dad, but he turned out to be a wonderful and loving father. Then, 5 years later, Rosie Anita Cooper was born (Rosie because Sly always called Carmelita his "Beautiful Spanish Rose" and Anita was Carmelita's grandmother's name). Sly and the gang were active this entire time. The gang, unfortunately, made many unwanted, powerful enemies in their many heists and Coal was only one of them. Bentley found out they were being targeted for assassination using TheifNet, and the Cooper's went into hiding. Carmelita quit her job, the kids dropped out of school, they simply didn't return to their house one night, it appeared the Coopers had simply dropped off the face of the earth. In reality, they had moved into an abandoned warehouse with little-to-no contact with the outside world and with only a select few knowing their location. This story begins after one of Coal's mercenaries finds them.**

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**Masquerade stood, looking at the warehouse. She was stroking the peacock feather of her mask that gave her the name Masquerade. It was a full face mask, solid blue with green, blue, and solid gold beads glued on it in a decorative pattern. There was no mouth, only lips painted in a darker shade of blue. The mask had been designed for her, it fit her face perfectly. The nose fit wonderfully over her own, making it easy to breath out of her nose even while fighting. The peacock feather was located in the upper right-hand corner, glued under a solid-gold shell. The warehouse she was looking at appeared to be just like an other warehouse on the block, abandoned and empty, but she could hear the faint rustling inside, she could see the light coming through a crack in the second story.**

"Perfect" she whispered, a malicious smile growing on her lips.

Tonight would be the night, the night Sly and Carmelita would finally stop interfering with Clockwerk's plans. She and her group of thugs were getting quite a sum to make sure they would stay out of the way, permanently. _"This guy Coal must really have it out for you"_ she thought to herself.

She raised her hand to the side and motioned to the darkness, a group of twenty or so first-class assassins and thugs spread around the building, some going to the back, some going to the front doors, and others making their way up to the roof. She and her group were the best, Coal had trained them all since they were very young. Coal had been training her since she was two. She was the best-of-the-best. She didn't make mistakes, not for that much.

They were slowly and silently surrounding the building. When she was sure they were all in position, she gave the signal. They crept into and onto the building, no one making even the slightest sound. Again, they waited for her signal. When they were ready, she gave them the thumbs up and they exploded into the room. Carmelita was grabbing her gun, Sly ran for his cane, and somewhere in the corner of her mind, she noticed the closet door opening just the slightest bit. She ignored it, her targets were captured.

She smiled as she looked at her easily apprehended victims. They had put up a good fight, but they were outnumbered. They were on their knees, a gun pressed to the back of each of their heads.

"Well, well, if it isn't the Coopers. How's your day?" Masquerade said, in a mocking cruel tone.

"Pretty good considering the circumstances." Sly answered in his smirking tone, while Carmelita gave him a look that could even make Masquerade flinch, and that wasn't easy. She looked at them, their tone appeared joking, but she saw in their eyes fear. It was so obvious, like it was written on their foreheads _"I'm scared out of my mind"_

That was her favorite part, seeing the fear in their eyes before she killed them. Watching the fear dying along with the rest of their body, watching the eyes glaze over as they took their last breath. Those last moments of their lives, that what she lived for. Those last few moments were what gave her sick, twisted mind pleasure. The only thing that made her happy.

"Do you think it's wise to joke around with me Cooper?" Masquerade asked, her anger flaring. "You've delayed Coal's plans for long enough, and we've been payed quite a pretty penny to make sure you don't delay them any further." She said, shoving her gun against his forehead, and taking the safety off. All she had to do was pull the trigger and _"bang"_ he was dead.

Sly's and Carmelita's eyes grew wide with the terror that was filling them, looking as if they might pop out. Her thugs started laughing at their expressions. But while they were laughing, Masquerade was growing cold, her hand shaking slightly.

While they were laughing, she had heard noise. It was a small noise, she was surprised she had even heard it. It was the partly-muffled, terrified gasp of a child sitting in a closet with the door slightly open about to watch her parents die. Sly and Carmelita had heard it too, their ears had perked up just the slightest bit and their eyes had been drawn to it for just a mili-second.

She knew that noise all to well.

Her hand was shaking much more now, her gang would notice it soon. She had to get them out of their now.

"Leave." she told them, firmly and viciously.

"What? they asked, almost simultaneously.

"You heard me!" she shrieked at them, all of them flinching "Now get out of here now, or you're next" she aimed her gun at the nearest one and shot, barely grazing his ear. They all knew that if she had wanted to hit him, she would have. "Now get out, LEAVE! I'm going to finish them off myself" she added maliciously. The thugs started laughing, knowing she was going to do more than just kill them. Knowing she was going to make them wish they were dead long before she actually murdered them.

Masquerade waited until they were well out of hearing range before she walked over to the closet. When Carmelita saw where she was headed, she let out a small noise. It sound like "Na-"gasp. Masquerade looked over her shoulder for a second but continued walking.

She got to the closet, she opened the door the rest of the way and looked inside.

There were two little raccoons inside. The oldest, the boy, looked exactly like Sly, only his fur was slightly more reddish, instead of that smokey gray of his father's. He had blue hair, in the exact same style as his father's, and he was clutching a little girl. She looked more like Carmelita than Sly, but you could definitely see the Sly in her. She had red fur, like her mother's and a ringed tail and the natural mask of her father. She had navy blue curls that weren't as bouncy as her mother's, and she was holding a blue hat to her chest.

Masquerade looked over and looked at Sly. She noticed for the first time he wasn't wearing his hat.

She looked at the children again, the boy's eyes were shut tight. He didn't want to show her the fear in his eyes as he died. The girl was crying, clutching the hat as if it could stop death from coming.

Masquerade looked at them one last time, before turning around and walking back toward the parents. She took her knife out, and stood behind Sly. He leaned into Carmelita as she brought the knife down. But she didn't stab him. She went lower, toward his wrists and cut the rope binding them together. She leaned over and cut the ropes on Carmelita's hands.

"You don't have much time. I'll be leaving in Carmelita's police car, so as soon as you hear the sirens, leave. I'll be the last one to leave, so you don't have to worry about being killed. But you'll have to leave soon, there's a bomb on the first floor and it's been set to go off one minute after I leave." Masquerade told them. She said it quickly, then slowly seeing their blank stares.

"What?" Carmelita asked.

"You heard me!" Masquerade snapped at her.

She heard little feet running across the floor as a small little girl voice screamed "Mommy!"

"Baby!" Carmelita cried as she grabbed the little girl and started crying.

"Do you understand what I said?" she asked turning to Sly.

Sly was still suspicious of her. He was standing between her and his family, seeing as the little boy had followed closely after his sister.

"Yes, I understand. But, why are you helping us?" he asked, eyes narrowed, suspicion heavy in his voice.

"I don't have to explain myself to you!" she screamed at him "Just be happy I'm helping you at all instead of killing you!"

He looked at her strangely, seeing pain and tears in her eyes instead of hatred, cruelty, and a disturbing kind of happiness. The little girl was inching toward Sly, until she ran up and grabbed his leg and stared up at her with large scared eyes.

It was that look that had minutes given her so much pleasure, that now made her sick to her stomach.

"When you hear the sirens leave." she told them again, turning toward the door and leaving. The little girl wasn't crying as hard, neither was Carmelita.

"Is she gonna hurt us daddy?" the little ring-tail asked Sly in between sniffles.

"I don't know." Sly answered in a tired, half dead voice.

When she asked the question, Masquerade had frozen with her hand on the doorknob.

"No." she said, seemingly to the door, "I'm not going to hurt you, or your family."

sniffle"Why?"sniffle.

"What do you mean _'why'_ do you want me to hurt you?" Masquerade hadn't meant to explode at the little girl, but what kind of a stupid question was that?

When Masquerade had turned around, the girl had given a horrified squeal and had flinched into her father's arms, while Sly had given a less noticeable flinch.

"I'm sa....sorr....sssoorryy" she finally managed to squeeze out, she had never apologized to anyone before, and she usually was disgusted by those who did. It was pathetic and useless. Why waste your breath saying "sorry"? It did nothing, it didn't change what you did or make anything better. There was still just as much pain as before, and a word couldn't change that.

Masquerade opened the door and stepped out. She walked down the abandoned halls, remembering.

_"Mommy?" a little girl whispered, looking out of a small crack in a dresser._

_She saw a group of men surrounding her parent, most were tall and burly, but some weren't freakishly strong and she couldn't tell why they were there. There was one man that stood out from the rest. He was a lot taller than the rest of them. He seemed to have no face, or his face was somehow constantly covered in shadow, like the darkness followed it. He raised a gun to her mother's head and the crowd moved closer and she couldn't see her anymore._

_"Bang" a shot resounded throughout the room. It was deathly quiet for just a second, then they all started laughing or cheering. She leaned back, crying, trying to keep quiet like she promised her mother._

_She didn't know how long it had been, it could have been days or hours or seconds. She didn't know or care._

_She stayed like that, leaning against the back of the dresser crying, until she head the dresser open._

_She looked up, it was the tall, scary man. He held his hand out, she took it. She didn't know why, but she took his hand and followed him. He offered her food and shelter and clothing, he didn't seem as scary anymore. He seemed more comforting and kind, but still strict. Someone who could love you, but not someone you could walk over._

_"Do you agree?" he asked talking to her as if she were a grown-up, instead of a child._

_"Yes."_

She snapped back into reality as the flashback ended. She walked over to the bomb, armed it, and then quickly ran to the car, turned to sirens on, and floored it. Tears were streaming down her cheeks. She was going to have to run and hide her whole life. Coal would eventually notice that the Cooper family wasn't dead, and then he would send out for her.

She looked into the rear view mirror the last thing she saw was the four Coopers, jumping onto the roof of the building next to it. Sly had his hat back on, and the little ringtails were definitely learning alot from their father. She watched them jump with surprising agility onto the building, twisting and flipping through the air. _They definitely inherited Sly's agility_ she thought to herself. They ran away across the rooftops, Sly giving her one last look over his shoulder before running away with his family. His expression was lost in the explosion.

Masquerade had, unknowingly, stopped the car to watch them leave. She watched the flames growing closer and closer, almost in slow motion, until....

_"Boom" _the Cooper's heard another explosion. They ran faster, leaving the burning building and painful memories behind them.

_The next morning:_

The charred remains of what had once been a shoe-making factory were surrounded by cops, bi-standers, and an investigation team. A few people had called in reports of a loud noise at approximately 1:00 a.m. The police were buzzing around the building, like flies hovering over an abandoned picnic, collecting evidence, taking notes, and complaining that it was too early.

"Wonder what this is doing here?" Inspector Ramirez (a possum) said, holding up....a mask.

A badly burned, blue face mask. A charred stump was all that remained of the once beautiful and long peacock feather. The beads were all missing, except one gold one, in the shape of a shell, sitting in the upper right hand corner.

"I don't know or care, bag it. Let someone else deal with it." A disgruntled rabbit said, rubbing his eyes and downing the remains of his coffee.

The opossum sighed and shoved the charred mask into an evidence bag.

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**Sorry, the ending is kinda lame. But, i think it's ok-ish. Special thanks to slylady for reminding to add a disclaimer thingy and for welcoming me to Fanfiction and having a funny and long profile (she's also an awesome writer). And again thanks to Tanner, for encouraging me to write a background. PLEASE REVIEW. I don't care if you have nothing to say. You could say "i like cookies" for all I care, just review. Bye.**

**I know most people don't really read very much into my stories, I don't blame them. Most of the things I write aren't as well written as they could be, because I don't spend much time writing them. But there is a hidden message within this story. It's about the paths you take, and the choices you make throughout your life. Both Sly and Masquerade had the same beginnings, both had the same horrific thing happen to them, but they each chose a different road to travel down. Sly became a Robin Hood of sorts, a good guy who saves the world. Masquerade chose to let the anger and sadness consume her and became evil, choosing to only see the pain instead of trying to help the rest of the people hurt in the world. Well, that's it. Bye for real this time.**


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